A Walk Around the Neighbourhood — Across the Bridge (Part Two)

It’s a great day to spend at the beach! We’ve got our towels and a good book tucked beneath our arm, and we know where we’re going for an afternoon of relaxation.

Turning left as soon as we get outside, we can immediately see the Victorian architecture of the Cedar Knoll guesthouse across Stone Street. Cedar Knoll is part of the Gananoque Inn & Spa, and we’re walking right past that on our trip to the beach. The first intersection is Water Street — and we turn left again, past the the Stonewater Bed & Breakfast and Gastro Pub, to the little metal lift bridge that leads us over the river.

There’s water rushing beneath our feet as we walk, and the breeze meets us as we step off the bridge and head down to the grass and tree-lined pathway of waterfront. We can see the Gananoque Boatline floating on the water as we stroll by. Maybe we’ll pick up tickets for the tribute cruise that they’re having next weekend. That looks like it would be a lot of fun.

After a few minutes, we reach the museums. We’re almost there, but we can’t help but peer into the windows of the Thousand Islands Boat Museum and the Arthur Child Heritage Museum. We haven’t seen the new exhibits yet, but it’s still early in the season and we always make sure to stop in and see what’s new.

Just past the museums is our destination. We’ve reached Joel Stone Beach and Joel Stone Heritage Park — a picturesque group of historical buildings dotted around a half-circle of sheltered beach. There’s something so very comfortable about sitting by the water’s edge beneath the shade of a historical building and spending an afternoon relaxing.

If we were feeling adventurous, we could follow the curve of the shore around the corner to the Gananoque Municipal Marina and Thousand Islands Kayaking to rent a kayak. Our boat is in our private boat slip at Stone & South, but sometimes it’s nice to explore the river with a paddle and the slow, steady pace of a kayak.